NEWS

Katherine Goodman is a graduate of the Animal Law LLM program at Lewis & Clark Law School and is the founder of Stop Animal Sexual Assault (SASA), a non-profit that seeks to raise awareness about animal sexual assault in the United States. I have always loved animals for as long as I can remember and have always wanted to help them. It did not take long during my undergraduate journey for me to realize that I could accomplish this with […]

Duncan McNair is a prominent corporate litigation lawyer with a longstanding interest in animal welfare causes. He is founder and CEO of Save The Asian Elephants (STAE), a Community Interest Company working for the preservation and protection of the endangered Asian elephant. McNair founded STAE in 2015 after hearing about the plight of the Asian elephant and travelling to India to elicit the facts for himself. Moved by what he saw, McNair returned to the UK and STAE was formed. In […]

It was beyond my imagination to even think of how I would introduce the subject of animal law and the five freedoms of animal welfare to Africans, who are unemployed, dying of hunger and thirst. I found it weird to even discuss of animal rights in a society where respect of human rights is still a big issue. To talk of right to food, water and shelter of animals to a human being who is trying to survive and provide […]

UK Government urged to take action on cruel puppy trade, live farm animal exports, foie gras and fur imports, farm subsidies and severe animal experiments to ensure UK can maintain its role as pioneer for animals as Britain exits EU. The UK Centre for Animal Law and Wildlife and Countryside Link[1] are today releasing a new report ‘Brexit – getting the best deal for animals’ calling on the UK Government to turn words into action for animals. The report is […]

Katy Sowery is a PhD candidate in EU law at the University of Liverpool. Her research interests include constitutional law and the law relating to animals. *This is a summary of an article due to be published in the Common Market Law Review (2018) Issue 55 Volume 1, available online at: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3090363. In the European Union animals are formally recognised both as “sentient beings” and as “agricultural products” in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU.) This “dual […]

The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee has launched a pre-legislative inquiry into the Government’s recently published Animal Welfare (Sentencing and Recognition of Sentience) Bill. The Bill makes provisions to reflect animal sentience in domestic law and increase animal cruelty sentences to a maximum of five years’ imprisonment. Views are sought by 17th January 2018. In particular, the Committee would like to receive views on the following: The Bill requires Ministers to have “regard to the welfare needs of […]

The Government has announced it plans to introduce new regulations around dog breeding and puppy selling, and that new legislation to introduce these measures could be published early 2018. The Government is considering – amongst others – the following new regulations: • Licensed dog breeders must show puppies with their mothers before a sale; • Puppy sales should be completed whilst the new owner is present; • Licensed dog breeders must only sell puppies they have themselves bred; and • […]

A-law’s Student Group has released its latest edition of Animal Justice UK, and as you will see, the eMagazine has a new look to tie in with A-law’s rebrand. In this edition, barrister and A-law Chairperson, Paula Sparks, discusses A-law’s relaunch and plans for 2018. Tiffany Mitchell writes about our animal of the issue, the chicken, revealing the species has complex communication skills and a high level of intelligence. Kelly Levenda writes about the need to give greater consideration to […]

The Government has released a draft Animal Welfare (Sentencing and Recognition of Sentience) Bill 2017, which will enshrine animal sentience in UK domestic law and increase animal cruelty sentences to a maximum of five years’ imprisonment in England and Wales. Section 1 of the draft Bill reads: Welfare needs of animals as sentient beings (1) Ministers of the Crown must have regard to the welfare needs of animals as sentient beings in formulating and implementing government policy. (2) […]

Introduction and summary On 15 November 2017 a vote took place in the House of Commons on a proposed amendment to the EU (Withdrawal) Bill (the Withdrawal Bill). The amendment (referred to as “New Clause 30”, or “NC30”) sought to incorporate into UK law Article 13 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). Article 13 states that the EU and its member States “shall, since animals are sentient beings, pay full regard to the welfare requirements […]